Inspiration from France – India Mahdavi

Paris-based architect and designer : India Mahdavi’s name is a reflection of the designer herself: exotic, feminine, dramatic. It’s a name that evokes a chic, global sensibility and one that completely captures the essence of her designs.

As an international interiors, furniture and objects designer, India’s work is influenced by memories of her nomadic life. Each of her projects, be it a bar, restaurant, hotel, private residence or a piece of furniture, carries in it elements that are modern yet familiar. Her style is by turns playful, sexy and chic, and she’s not afraid to let her femininity come through in her work.

Mahdavi studied architecture at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris between 1980 and 1986. She earned her Architect Diploma DPLG in 1987. In 1989, she spent a year in New York, studying graphic design at the School of Visual Arts, furniture design at Parsons, and industrial design at the Cooper Union. She then returned to Paris and joined Christian Liaigre’s design studio as Art Director, where she remained for seven years. Mahdavi’s company, imh interiors, was founded in 1999, with the designer subsequently opening her own showroom in Paris in 2003. The following year, Salon Maison & Objet elected her Designer of the Year.

Mahdavi lives and works in Paris.

The Most Iconic Project

LANDSCAPE SERIES

Designed exclusively for the Carwan Gallery, the Landscape Series is made up of colorful tables and vases inspired by Iznik tiles, ceramic tiles that are a 16th century Ottoman tradition. Designed by India Mahdavi, the series came about from research into the Ottoman style of making quartz tiles which led to a new way of constructing tables. The entire collection carries a unique reflective shine thanks to the tiles made in custom colors solely for this project by the Iznik Foundation.

India grew up wanting to be a filmmaker; therefore, it’s not surprising that her interiors have a dramatic, almost theatrical quality to them. In her mind, a space is a three-dimensional story waiting to be told. She admires the work of Stanley Kubrick and Federico Fellini. Her hero is James Bond. When asked why she replied : “James Bond is a happy, positive character. He’s sexy, and it always puts me in a good mood when I see him. I think one has to remember to think about what’s sexy in life. I’m not talking about sex so much as a bit of glam, a bit of fun. I try to incorporate that feeling into all my projects. APT has that freshness ­ if it were grander, APT would be very Bondian.”